Specialist global steel manufacturer, SSAB, is well known for its Hardox wear plate and Strenx performance steel products, each offering their own certification program that adds value and quality to the end products in the market. Its longstanding Hardox In My Body program has become a simple way to recognise when the exceptional Hardox steel is used in truck and trailer bodies while My Inner Strenx is all about enhancing structural performance for industrial applications with the Strenx range.
SSAB claims that it has over 400 certified members worldwide for its Hardox In My Body program. Members of the program use the Hardox range of steel products – such as its wear plates – in their builds, resulting in equipment with exceptional wear resistance, unsurpassed impact strength and the assurance that end-users will save money and time down the road by using the superior steel-manufactured product.
Once a member of the program, each trailer builder’s product must be approved by the SSAB board before it can earn the certification, a group that consists of wear and structural technology experts that analyse welding quality, manufacturing process and design. The program sticker sign has a unique ID system that provides full traceability for the origins of the materials used, so customers can be assured that they are getting a superior steel product manufactured by a qualified program member.
SSAB recently appointed New Zealand-based Giltrap Engineering as a Hardox In My Body members, which has been using Hardox in its vehicles since 2013. An innovator in agricultural equipment, Giltrap has over 50 years of industry experience and operates a fully equipped processing and fabrication workshop as well as a painting facility.
Giltrap has developed a custom tipper design unique to New Zealand, boasting a 6mm Hardox 450 grade body in a two-plate U-shape design with integrated top rails.
Another newly appointed member of Hardox In My Body, Mid West Engineering needed a distinct point of difference to outlast its waste management competitors, so it retrofitted its waste trucks with Hardox. Mid West has been using Hardox for about a decade and has said that its vehicles look new after years of operation due to the superior surface protection that the Hardox range offers.
In addition to providing enhanced surface protection products, SSAB has also appointed a new member for My Inner Strenx to demonstrate the advantages of using high-strength steel with road trains and similar transport vehicles in the mining industry.
Alongside its Hardox In My Body program, SSAB’s My Inner Strenx program offers superior structural steel for heavy-duty equipment manufacturers. Strenx is made via quality-controlled production techniques and is optimised for a range of demanding applications including truck chassis and body reinforcement. The Strenx certification also comes with a unique identifier, which determines product authenticity and where the materials were sourced.
Joining the My Inner Strenx program, Bruce Rock Engineering (BRE) has serviced the agricultural region around Bruce Rock in Western Australia since 1980 and offers road transport equipment, design, manufacture and maintenance. In 2006, BRE expanded its range to produce side-tipping trucks for the mining industry and has since engaged in lightweight body design using Hardox 450 material grade – making them the lightest steel tippers in the market.
By adding value to its industrial and commercial equipment, BRE uses SSAB’s high strength steel in everything from end tippers and road trains to dollies, drawbars and skel trailers. BRE is capable of producing around two to four trailers a week and takes advantage of the Strenx and Hardox certifications to emphasise its high-quality builds from high-performance steel and exceptional structural reinforcement.
With its Hardox in My Body and My Inner Strenx programs, SSAB does more than just providing the high quality Hardox wear plate and Strenx performance steel to its trailer building membership group – the certification also serves as a badge of honour that reinforces the structural integrity of truck and trailer bodies.
| A Trailer release || August 1, 2017 |||